HI 270

Modern Middle East

Fall 2016
 
Course Instructor: Dr. Akram Khater
Email: akhater@ncsu.edu
Office Phone: 919-515-5042
Class Meeting: 160 Withers Hall (T/Th, 1:30 – 2:45 pm)

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10-11 am

Office Address: Room 332, Withers Hall
Course Prerequisites: None
Credit Hours: 3

Course Description
This is a survey course designed to give you a historical understanding of social, cultural,
economic and political changes in
the Middle East during the 19th and
20th centuries. Within a general
political framework the course will
cover the main social, economic,
and cultural currents of these two
centuries. The emphasis of the
course is on the historical
background to the Middle Eastern
events of our time. Topics to be
covered include the decline of the
Ottoman Empire, the rise of
nationalism, the waxing and waning
of British and French imperialism in
the region, and the creation of
modern states and societies and their ideological and economic underpinnings. More specifically,
we will study, in the history of the Middle East during the 20th century, such central problems
as Palestine/Israel, the Iranian revolution and the emergence of activist Islamic groups in the
Middle East and their relevance to the future of that region. Throughout we will examine how
these changes affected the lives of individuals and social groups, like women, workers and
peasants.

My goal for this class is to go beyond the headlines, and to shed the overly simplistic stereotypes
that encumber our understanding of the Middle East and its peoples. We will explore together
the complexity that surrounds such highly publicized issues as women wearing the veil and
religious activism. Most importantly, we will learn about the foibles and strength that underlies
the humanity of all the peoples of that region.
 

Hi  270  ~  Modern  Middle  East    

1  
 
 Required Text
Can be bought at NCSU Bookstore:
• Cleveland, William and Martin Bunton. A History of the Modern Middle East. 5th ed. Boulder,
CO: Westview Press, 2013.
• Khater, Akram Fouad. Sources in the History of the Modern Middle East. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Company, 2004.

Other Readings
The readings from the following books will be made available to students in pdf format on
Moodle  
 
Course Evaluation
• Map Quiz (5%)
• 4 “In-Class Writing” reflections on class readings (5% each for a total of 20%)
Students are required to complete 5 “In-Class” responses to the assigned readings for
weeks specified on the syllabus. Each response is worth 5%. The best 4 out of the 5
responses will be counted towards the final grade.
• 3 Quizzes (5% each, total 15%): In class quizzes that focus on the readings; these will
be mainly identifications and short answers.
• Mid-term Exam (25%)
• Final Exam (25%)
• Participation (10%): Class participation is evaluated through your active presence in
the class as demonstrated by responding to questions from instructor about readings,
engaging in dialogue in the class, and demonstrating knowledge of the required reading

Course GEP Learning Objectives

This course fulfills the NCSU Humanities GEP (General Education Program). Each course in the
Humanities category of the GEP will provide instruction and guidance that help students to:
 
1. Research, find, and analyze information on diverse Middle Eastern cultures.
2. Understand and engage in the human experience through the interpretation of
cultural history using (primary source) evidence from the past.
3. Understand history not as factual and chronological data, but as the production
and organization of data by authoritative historical accounts.
4. Become aware and critical of the act of historical interpretation itself, through
which historians use varieties of evidence to offer perspectives on the meaning of
the past.
5. Demonstrate enhanced oral and written communication skills, and ability to make
academic arguments about history using reasons and relevant primary sources.
 
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon the successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
• Identify the major social, political, ideological, and economic transformations in the modern
Middle East.

2   HI  270  ~  Modern  Middle  East    

 
  

• Analyze these transformations in larger global frameworks and international histories.

• Think critically and analytically about different sources and methodologies in studying
Middle Eastern history.
 
Expectations, Policies and Grading
Academic Integrity: I will strictly enforce NC State's standards of academic integrity. I expect
that you will neither give nor receive unauthorized aid on any test or assignment. Please refer to the
following website for further details: http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/student_services/
student_discipline/POL1.1.35.1.php. The History Department provides you with examples of
what we understand to be plagiarism:
http://history.ncsu.edu/ug_resources/plagiarism_honor_code
 
Disability: “Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order
to take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with the Disability Services Office
at Suite 2221, Student Health Center, Campus Box 7509, 919-515-7653. For more information on NC
State's policy on working with students with disabilities, please see the Academic Accommodations for
Students with Disabilities Regulation (REG02.20.01)”
 
Attendance: It is absolutely critical to your success in this course to attend class every day. As
such, attendance will be taken very seriously. Students are only allowed TWO (2) excused absences
for the whole semester. Each additional excused absence will result in a 2-point deduction from
your final grade. Any unexcused absence will be result in an automatic 2-point deduction from
your final grade.
 
Electronic Device Policy
The use of a n y electronic devices such as phones, tablets or laptops are not permitted during
class. If you have a special need for the use of such equipment then you will need to clear the
matter with the instructor.

Grade Breakdown
 
Letter Grade Numerical Grade Letter Grade Numerical Grade
A+ 97 > 100 C+ 77 > 79.9

A 93 > 96.9 C 74 > 76.9

A- 90 > 92.9 C- 70 > 73.9

B+ 87 > 89.9 D+ 67 > 69.9

B 83 > 86.9 D 63 > 66.9

B- 80 > 82.9 D- 60 > 62.9

F 0 > 59.9    
 
 
 

Hi  270  ~  Modern  Middle  East    

3  
 
 Weekly Lecture Schedule
 
 
Part I: The Middle East in the Age of Reforms
 
Week 1 ~ August 18 - Introduction to the class

Week 2 ~ Aug 23 - 25: Political Encounters

• Cleveland: Chapter 4 (pp. 53-74) & 5
• Khater: Chapter 1 (Selections 1, 2, 5)

Week 3 ~ Aug 30 - Sept. 1: Economic Encounters

• Cleveland: Chapter 6
• Khater: Chapter 2 (Selections 3, 5)

MAP QUIZ (September 1st)

Week 4 ~ Sept. 6 - 8: Cultural Encounters

• Cleveland: Chapter 7
• Gelvin, “Imperialism,” 90-105
• Khater: Chapter 1 (Selection 4); Chapter 3 (Selections 1, 4, 5)
• Nancy Micklewright : Ottoman Costumes of the 19th Century

QUIZ #1 (September 8th)

Week 5 ~ Sept. 13 - 15: World War I and the Mandate System

• Cleveland: Chapter 9
• Khater: Chapter 4 (Selections 3 & 5)
• Irfan Orga: Diary of a Turkish Family
• Gelvin, “The Introduction and Spread of Nationalism,” 220-229
 
 
Part II: Nationalisms and Struggles for Independence

Week 6 ~ Sept. 20 - 22: Nations and Nationalism

• Khater: Chapter 4 (Selections 7, 8) & Chapter 5 (Selections 1, 6)
• Cleveland : Chapter 11 (pp. 193 - 213) §
• Recommended:
o Film - Al-Nasir Salah al-Din You can watch it here in several parts
o Novel - Naguib Mahfouz, Midaq Alley
• Writing Assignment 1 (September 20) Khater, “Taha Husayn Writes of Egypt as a
Mixture of Pharaonic, Arab, and Western Cultures, 1938.”

4   HI  270  ~  Modern  Middle  East    

 
  

Week 7 ~ Sept. 27 - 29: The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

• James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: pp. 230 - 247
• Khater, Chapter 7 (7, 8), Chapter 9 (5)
• Poetry: Mahmoud Darwish Record I am an Arab
• Music - Palestinian Rap: Slingshot Hip Hop
• Writing Assignment 2 (September 27): Khater, “The Arab Case for Palestine and the Case
for a Bi-national State, March 1946.”
 

Tuesday, October 4 - Midterm Exam

Week 8 ~ Oct 11 - 13: Foundation of the Modern State

• Cleveland: Chapter 10 & 15
• Khater: Chapter 6 (Selections 1, 2)
• Recommended:
o Film - Nasser '56
o Book - Naguib Mahfouz, Palace Walk

Week 9 ~ Oct. 18 - 20: Crisis of the State

• Cleveland: Chapter 16
• Khater: Chapter 7 (Selections 1, 2, and 6)
• Arab Comic Strip: Defeat in the Sinai
• Writing Assignment 3 (October 20): "Jamal 'Abd al-Nassir (Gamal Abd al-Nasser) from
Egypt's Liberation, 1953," 73-84.

Week 10 ~ Oct. 25 - 27: Rise of Islamist Politics

• Cleveland: Chapter 16 (pp. 301 - 321)
• Mark Levine: Heavy Metal Islam, NPR Interview
• Khater: Chapter 8 (Selections 1-3)
• Recommended:
o YouTube: The Power of Nightmares: Baby it's Cold Outside (Several parts) ·
o Book - Sayyid Qutb, Social Justice In Islam
• Writing Assignment 4 (October 25): Iranian Intellectual Ali Shari’ati Examines Man from the
Viewpoint of Islam, pp. 278-285.

Week 11 ~ Nov. 1 - 3: The Iranian Revolution

• Cleveland: Chapter 18 (347 - 368) & Chapter 24 (pp. 494 - 500)
• Khater: Chapter 7 (Selection 3)
• Video: One Million Signatures
• Recommended:
o Film - Persepolis
o Book - Roy Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet

Hi  270  ~  Modern  Middle  East    

5  
 
 o Book: Nasrin Alav, We Are Iran: The Persian Blogs

QUIZ #2 (November 1)

Week 12 ~ Nov. 8 -10: Authoritarian Rule in the Arab World

• James Gelvin, "Oil."
• Cleveland and Bunton, Ch. 21, “The Consolidation of Authoritarian Rule in Syria and Iraq: The Regimes
of Hafiz al-Asad and Saddam Husayn,” 414-437

Week 13 & 14 ~ Nov. 15 - Nov. 17, Nov. 22: The Gulf Wars
• Cleveland: Chapter 25 "America's Troubled Moment in the Middle East"
• James Gelvin, "The United States and the Middle East"
• Khater, Chapter 10 (Selections 1, 2, 3)
• Recommended:
o Film: My Country, My Country

QUIZ #3 (November 15)

Week 15 ~ Nov. 29 - Dec. 1: The Future of the Middle East

• Cleveland, Chapter 26, "The 2011 Arab Uprisings"
• Khater, Chapter 9 (Selections 7 & 8) AND Chapter 10 (Selections 4, 6 and 8)

6   HI  270  ~  Modern  Middle  East